49. My Two New Words of the Week...

vivify

  \VIV-uh-fy\ , transitive verb;

1.

To endue with life; to make alive; to animate.

2.

To make more lively or intense.

AND

gastronome

  \GAS-truh-nohm\ , noun;

1.

A connoisseur of good food and drink.

32. See a moose/bear/bald eagle/hummingbird/otter/beaver/bison/red cardinal/elk/coyote in the wild and try and photograph them (2/10) - Red Cardinal

While I was sitting on my balcony this afternoon enjoying a cup of tea in the fading sunshine, a beautiful little visitor decided to pop by to rest his wary wings... if only I had a telephoto lens... *sigh* .... soon, soon... I absolutely adore the Red Cardinal - the males are the most vivid burnt orange red that I've ever seen, they never fail to grab my attention when flitting past... gorgeous!

49. My Two new words of the week...

Ohmigoodness how disgustingly lax have I been this week?? It's Thursday and I've yet to blog my two new words of the week... Sacrilege!! (hmmm actually that would make a good word of the week!!) Ok so in honour of my laziness my words this week will be... about laziness!!

dil·a·to·ry

   [dil-uh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee]

–adjective

1.

tending to delay or procrastinate; slow; tardy.

2.

intended to cause delay, gain time, or defer decision: a dilatory strategy.

AND

ap·a·thet·ic

   [ap-uh-thet-ik]

–adjective

1.

having or showing little or no emotion: apathetic behavior.

2.

not interested or concerned; indifferent or unresponsive: an apathetic audience.

91. Read and review 100 books (3/100) The Big Rich - Bryan Burrough

'In The Big Rich, bestselling author and Vanity Fair special correspondent Bryan Burrough chronicles the rise and fall of one of the great economic and political powerhouses of the twentieth century—Texas oil. By weaving together the epic sagas of the industry's four greatest fortunes, Burrough has produced an enthralling tale of money, family, and power in the American century.


Known in their day as the Big Four, Roy Cullen, H. L. Hunt, Clint Murchison, and Sid Richardson were all from modest backgrounds, and all became patriarchs of the wealthiest oil families in Texas. As a class they came to be known as the Big Rich, and together they created a new legend in America—the swaggering Texas oilman who owns private islands, sprawling ranches and perhaps a football team or two, and mingles with presidents and Hollywood stars.



The truth more than lives up to the myth. Along with their peers, the Big Four shifted wealth and power in America away from the East Coast, sending three of their state's native sons to the White House and largely bankrolling the rise of modern conservatism in America. H. L. Hunt became America's richest man by grabbing Texas's largest oilfield out from under the nose of the man who found it; he was also a lifelong bigamist. Clint Murchison entertained British royalty on his Mexican hacienda and bet on racehorses—and conducted dirty deals—with J. Edgar Hoover. Roy Cullen, an elementary school dropout, used his millions to revive the hapless Texas GOP. And Sid Richardson, the Big Four's fun-loving bachelor, was a friend of several presidents, including, most fatefully, Lyndon Johnson.



The Big Four produced offspring who frequently made more headlines, and in some cases more millions, than they did. With few exceptions, however, their fortunes came to an end in a swirl of bitter family feuds, scandals, and bankruptcies, and by the late 1980s, the era of the Big Rich was over. But as Texas native Bryan Burrough reveals in this hugely entertaining account, the profound economic, political, and cultural influence of Texas oil is still keenly felt today.'

I really enjoyed this book, mainly because I could relate to it – having just joined the oil industry, or as they like to be called today, the energy sector, in Texas and specifically having joined the pointy end of the stick, advising drilling and well completion work - I have developed a bit of a heightened interest in the history of the oil field! I picked this novel up, or rather downloaded it in the Midland airport having just spent a week in the fields in surrounding Winkler County... the fact that I could immediately relate the writing back to what I had seen and experienced had me hooked. This novel is well written and helps to explain why Texas became synonymous with oil and while also helping to dispel, and at times support some of the more popular stereotypes that surround oilmen. All in all a very interesting and entertaining read! I know Dallas was a little before my time but who needs fiction when you have reality!! I'm off to see if I can pull an episode or two of Dallas from the vault somewhere... and you know what this means... I'm stopping at Southfork Ranch the next time I'm in town, after all that's the closest I'm going to get to being one of the big rich!!

37. Learn Photography

Today I moved yet another step closer to completing task number 37!! 

Even before I bought by Nikon D90 I knew it was going to be an investment, an investment in time and learning as well as a hole in my pocket financially! Well its taken me a while to decide exactly how and where I want to go about learning the basic knowledge that allows me to use my new camera as something more than just an expensive and bulky point and shoot!! 

I researched many options - Rice University, Community College, Leisure Learning Institute... before finally settling on the Houston Centre for Photography mainly because.. well mainly because their workshops are just so darn hard to get into... and thats got to be a sign of something good right?!?!?!

Anyway pre-enrolment opened last week for HCP members and I've been stalking the website ever since as I am just a poor general lay person (I did look into becoming a member but at this point its just not worth it). So, today, finally was the day - enrolment for us plebs!! Worried, of course, that the classes would sell out before I even had a chance to fight my way into a spot, the first thing I did when I arrived at work at 7am, yes before I even went and made myself a cuppa, was start up the 'puter and try to enrol... Well much to my surprise they hadn't opened enrolment yet... so like a good little stalker I kept refreshing the page every 15 minutes until 4 hours later I finally got the chance to jump on the coveted spot in the class of my choice... 

Beginning Photography: Camera 

with Laszlo Perlaky May 5, 12, 19, & 26, 7pm - 9pm

This four-session, hands-on course is the first step towards mastering the art of photography. Here, you will be introduced to the basics of composition, color theory and white balance. Terms such as aperture, shutter speed, ISO and white balance will no longer seem mysterious as you learn what they are and how to use them to gain creative control over your images. The instructor will guide you in discovering how to maneuver through the different menu functions on your digital SLR camera. In addition, there will be out-of-class assignments that will help you to practice your newly gained technical knowledge. This class is great for the beginner who wants hands-on practice in learning to use his or her camera.

This course includes outside-of-class assignments to practice what you’ve learned.
This course includes: • Shutter speed, aperture and ISO
• White balance
• How to make your pictures look the way you want them to
• Hands-on practice
• Feedback on your images


So yes I know i have to wait until May (my fault... blame my work schedule) but I can't wait to discover all the really cool things my new toy can do... oh and of course start bugging Paul for all the new lenses I'm just going to haaaaaave to have!! :D 

49. My Two new words of the week...

I've made a deal with myself this week, no more negative words of the week... well at least for this week! Looking back over my previous words of the week I'm starting to notice a dark and twisty undertone.. the majority of my words are depressing, evil or just plan sad... SO I'm starting a new trend... only happy, shiny words will enter this posting.. well at least for this week :D

assuage

 [uh-sweyj, uh-sweyzh]

–verb (used with object), -suaged, -suag⋅ing.

1.	to make milder or less severe; relieve; ease; mitigate: to assuage one's grief; to assuage one's pain.

2.	to appease; satisfy; allay; relieve: to assuage one's hunger.

3.	to soothe, calm, or mollify: to assuage his fears; to assuage her anger.

AND

convivial

 [kuhn-viv-ee-uhl]

–adjective

1.	friendly; agreeable: a convivial atmosphere.

2.	fond of feasting, drinking, and merry company; jovial.

3.	of or befitting a feast; festive.

49. My Two new words of the week...

No cheeky reasons for my words this week... unless you count having to go to work every day a form of draconian punishment and are having machinations to figure out how to get out of having to go five days a week... ahhhhh having a baby has never looked as good ;)

draconian

  \dray-KOHN-ee-uhn; druh-\ , adjective;

1.

Pertaining to Draco, a lawgiver of Athens, 621 B.C.

2.

Excessively harsh; severe.

AND

machination

  \mack-uh-NAY-shuhn; mash-\ , noun;

1.

The act of plotting.

2.

A crafty scheme; a cunning design or plot intended to
accomplish some usually evil end.